Posted on 03/20/2017 11:59:13 AM PDT by Swordmaker
A coroner is to warn Apple that iPhone chargers can be potentially lethal after a man was electrocuted in the bath.
Richard Bull from Ealing in west London was pronounced dead by paramedics in his home on December 11.
The 32-year-old was found by his wife Tanya, who thought her husband had been attacked because his burns were so severe.
At an inquest into his death the coroner issued a warning about using the 'innocuous devices' which can be 'as dangerous as a hairdryer in a bathroom.' Recording a verdict of accidental death, Dr Sean Cummings said: 'These seem like innocuous devices but can be as dangerous as a hairdryer in a bathroom. 'They should attach warnings. I intend to write a report later to the makers of the phone.'
Mr Bull was getting ready to go out meet family members to exchange Christmas presents when the tragedy happened.
His mother Carole said: 'I have worried that so many people and especially teenagers, that can't be separated from their phones, don't know how dangerous it is.'
PC Craig Pattison told the inquest at West London Coroner's Court how he found the extension lead running from the hallway outside into the bathroom.' 'We found an iPhone plugged into the extension cable and then the charger element in the bath,' he explained
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
There is also no indication that the charger was an Apple charger. There are a lot of third party chargers on the market and Apple found that 97% of them were incapable of regulating the charging amperage that was allowed through, unlike Apple’s charger.
The standard USB charger provides 1.1 Amps at 5 Volts. 100 to 200 mA can be lethal. This guy had 240 (nominally 230 Volts) at up to 20 Amps sitting on his chest at the female end of the extension cord where he had the USB charger plugged in. Get it wet with ionized water (soap will do it or any minerals in the water) and ZAP! Instant Darwin Award Candidate, if not finalist.
England. An entire country that doesn’t understand electricity.
(Brought to you by Lucas Electric, prince of darkness.)
;-)
Darwin Award
Sounds to me like he dunked the extension cord into the bath and that was the problem.
If he had plugged the charger into the wall he would have been OK.
This is an unwarranted bad rap for Apple—they had nothing to do with the extension cord.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Plus if he had been in the US an outlet in the bathroom would have had GFI protection, I don’t know about the code in the UK. The hallway outlet would not have required GFI protection...
I had a 1975 Triumph Trident. Great bike. But the Lucas electronics were unbelievably bad. They still don't know how to make a starter.
I guess no one in his life ever told him electrical appliances should not be near water?
so sad the goofy things we do in the moment that can have tragic results.
There’s an app for that...
Was he watching video of the bathtub scene early in Goldfinger?
Pinging dayglored, ThunderSleeps, and ShadowAce because UK Coroner thinks it's important for manufacturers of electronic devices to warn people to not bathe with them while charging them. Perhaps we should help him warn Industrial Strength Stupid users? LOL!
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How dumb do you have to be NOT to know that water and electricity are a bad combination?
A commentator on another site said he had a brother who was a contractor in the UK and they are not allowed to install outlets in bathrooms at all. I don't know about the veracity of that comment, but it might explain the extension cord to the outlet in the hallway. . .
RTFM
Every electrical device has a disclaimer warning not to use it near water. Of course this was England, so they don't understand English like we do.
I sure wouldn’t want a 240V outlet in my bathroom.
But how do they deal with hair driers, electric razors, electric toothbrush, etc. with no outlets?
Gal in our neighborhood took a shower and washed her hair and then decided to soak in the tub while she dried her hair. Hands were slick and she dropped the hair dryer in the tub while it was plugged in. Husband came home from work early and found her. Fortunately her kids weren’t home yet from school.
People just don’t think about what a bad combination water and electrical current can be.
Click the Pic
My sympathies for the mother and his girlfriend, but that aside the name “Richard Bull’ would be a great stage name.
Yes, a little off topic.
“Brought to you by Lucas Electric, prince of darkness.”
LOL! You must have owned an MG.
Old joke: Why do the Brits drink warm beer? Because Lucas makes their refrigerators......
Q - Why do The English drink warm beer?
A - Lucas also makes refrigerators.
Damn you!!!
If he had plugged the charger into the wall he would have been OK.
**************
You aren’t allowed to have an outlet in a “Water Closet” in England ... except for a single outlet up high above a shaving mirror presumably for an electric razor,, although I believe they were allowed before electric razors were invented.. they were counting on the height to keep water away even if you splashed in the sink.
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